Lighting the Spark
by Nerdmom1701
Summary: Keith and Allura are trapped in a storage room when the lights go out during a snowstorm. A loose sequel to "Beautiful", it is set six months after those events and four months after "A Tail of Tooth". Can be read as a stand alone. Merry Christmas and Happy Solstice!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N —** Well, this started as an answer to the challenge about our favourite pair and how they react when the lights go out, during a snowstorm. What it turned into was another story in the "Beautiful" universe, as a loose sequel to the first fic. The time frame is in the VF universe, before the war is over and Black is taken. I thought that I'd incorporate one of my favourite holidays, but give it a more Arusian spin. I've also added my OC from a previous fic near the end, but I make no reference to it other than her. Hope you like my sequel, and enjoy!

**Disclaimer —** I don't own Voltron, just my imagination.

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><p>"Keith, have you found the box with the wreaths, yet?" Allura asked the commander of the Voltron force, as he leaned around a small pile of plastic boxes, looking at the writing stencilled on the sides of the containers.<p>

The commander leaned back and rubbed the back of his neck in frustration. "I don't see anything written on these boxes that would indicate decorations of any kind – wreaths or otherwise. Allura, are you sure they are down here?" Keith motioned to the small alcove that they were currently in that contained boxes stacked in uniform rows. They clearly looked like they were meant to be in long-term storage.

Allura stared at the boxes with a frustrated look on her face. "I was sure that the boxes were brought here after the celebrations last year. I wonder where they went to?" She bit her lip absently, in annoyance.

The winter solstice on Arus was a time that traditionally called for decorations and lights, or "Sparks" as the Arusians called them, to be strung. It was a way for people to counteract the dark and welcome the return of the suns – and their warmer weather – to the land and into their homes. Allura had always loved the holiday, but it had been made even better since the boys arrived. That first year, Hunk had remarked that this time of the year was also celebrated on Earth with a holiday called Christmas. After hearing about it, Allura had done some research on the holiday and had become enraptured with all the traditions, decorations, and the general good spirits that were supposed to surround it.

From that first solstice, Allura had started to add some of the more festive parts of the Christmas traditions into the Castle's celebrations, partially to make the boys feel more at home, and partially to beautify the castle during what was admittedly a dreary and cold time of the year. They had all been touched by her efforts, and had thrown themselves into the spirit of the holiday full force, adding to it every year until Keith privately thought that the castle looked more like a sugary gingerbread castle than the palace of a planetary monarch. It was always beautiful, but last year, there was so many lights on the sides of the castle, he was sure that planet Doom could probably see them without a telescope. There was a term for it that had niggled in his brain until he remembered it later on that week.

The castle had been Griswolded.

The commander wasn't sure where the phrase had come from, but he was sure that it described all the Solstice decorations to a tee. Still, he would never try to dampen the Princess's fondness for the season or the enthusiasm she had. Allura was able to have fun so rarely, and this time of the year always gave her a great deal of joy. She could actually act her age for a change, and the delight that she got from the twinkling lights against the night sky – well, the men had made it their mission to see her face light up brighter than the castle, when she saw the decorations.

It was for this reason that Keith had allowed himself to be drafted for the job of getting out and bringing up some of the decorations that would end up in the great hall for the solstice celebration next week. Of course, the lights on the castle had been brought up and put on the castle over a month ago – courtesy of Green and Red Lion's fancy flying. The rest of the mountainous amounts of ornaments, wreaths, bunting and garland trim were currently residing in the deeper parts of the castle's stone foundation area, alongside old files, tapestries, artwork, and anything else that wasn't required in the living or working areas of the castle, but may be required for a future time. At least, that was the theory.

Looking at the containers, Keith couldn't imagine that any of these had been opened since before the war with Doom. They certainly didn't look like they held anything festive.

"Princess, are you sure that we're in the right alcove? I am not getting a very solstice-y vibe from these boxes." Keith supressed a little shudder. Truthfully, this place gave him the creeps. It felt more like a mausoleum or crypt – a place that was meant for dead, forgotten things, not for festive, life-affirming holiday decorations. The alcoves bubbled out around long corridors, thirty metres deep and five metres high. The entire underground complex was also a sealed, climate-controlled environment to protect the contents of the boxes from moisture and rot. He had to admit, it was a great storage facility – as long as you didn't have to listen to the unnatural quiet that made your own breathing sound like thunder in your ears.

Allura bit her lip in irritation and looked around the alcove again. "I don't know what to tell you, Keith. I didn't put the decorations back myself last year, but the computer readout said that they had been put into alcove twenty-one, corridor one. This is definitely alcove twenty-one. You're right though, there doesn't seem to be anything here for solstice."

"Could it have been misfiled?"

"I suppose so, but if that's the case, then we may never find the boxes. This place goes on forever." Allura huffed in frustration. The entire underground complex contained several corridors with multiple alcoves of various sizes – some being used while others were empty. There were literally over two hundred alcoves, and to visually inspect each of them, looking for random boxes in a warehouse full of boxes, would take a team of people hours, to say the least.

"Hey-" Keith came over to her and pulled her to himself in a reassuring hug. "Don't worry, we'll keep looking. I can't imagine that they were filed too far away from the entrance. They are being used annually, so you would want them to be accessible, right? Let's not give up just yet."

Allura smiled up at him and let her body mould against his own in comfort, which was the other reason that Keith had agreed to come down to the storage area with the Princess – the facility didn't have surveillance cameras. Oh, there were cameras in the lifts and in the main corridor to the entrance, but the facility itself wasn't heavily monitored. All the really valuable things were in the royal vault, so security in this area was limited to physical things – locks and doors and seals. As far as privacy was concerned, this was as good as they would ever get in the castle.

It had been about six months since the incident that had led to Keith and Allura declaring their love for one another. It had been a wonderful revelation to the both of them, but the council had reacted with the typical amounts of horror and dismay that their beloved princess wasn't going to just jump at the chance to marry whatever prince they happened to throw her way. The Princess, however, hadn't backed down from her declaration that she would never, _ever_ marry a prince, so a contest of wills was still currently being waged. Although Allura hadn't specifically mentioned Keith as the reason for her defection from protocol, the council had strong suspicions to that effect. It probably didn't help that the rest of the Force had threatened to leave Arus immediately if Keith was relieved of his command. Since the Lions were bonded to their pilots, replacements weren't a realistic option.

The Force was playing a bluff, and both Allura and Keith knew it. There was no way any of them would leave Arus unprotected, willingly. It was their home now. So, in order to keep things from coming to a head, Allura and Keith had been keeping their contact with one another publically professional, and privately discrete.

It was not a perfect solution, but Keith was willing to go along with it and see how it played out. He had loved Allura for years, and if he now got to hold her only sometimes, well that was better than it had been before. She knew how he felt, and that he wasn't going anywhere without her. He told her every chance he had. He wasn't letting her go – so if the council needed some time to get used to the idea that Allura had made her choice, then he was okay with her decision not to antagonize them.

Allura cuddled against Keith's strong chest for a moment, before reaching up and placing her hand on his cheek and a chaste kiss on his lips. He always made her feel better. Stronger. He was amazing that way.

The Princess straightened a little, putting her arm around the Commander's waist and took a deep breath, thinking about what Keith had said about the boxes being put close to the elevator so that they were easily accessible. That certainly made sense. She was just about to suggest they head closer to the exit, when a reflective glint caught her eye near the ceiling. A small, clear container sat at the top of a rack of bigger, paper-filled containers near the front of the alcove. She thought it was odd that the box seemed to be alone, but it certainly looked like the containers that were used for the solstice decorations. Allura nudged Keith and gestured to the box. Keith took one look at it and groaned.

"It would have to be at the very top, now wouldn't it?"

"I can get it, Keith. It's not too big, and there is a mini ladder right beside the stack." Allura offered, gesturing to the thin poll that had spikes sticking out on either side of it that was meant to allow access to the boxes.

Keith stared at her like she had lost her mind. "Absolutely not. I am not letting you get on that death trap of a mini ladder for the sake of a box. If you really want, I'll go up and read the tag to make sure that it's what you want. I can probably anti-grav it down using the Voltcom if we need it. Although, why it's the only box in here, I'll never know." Allura smiled at him and kissed him again, longer and deeper this time, which made up for the inconvenience, he thought, as he lost himself temporarily in the moment with her.

After a few seconds, Keith groaned and parted from her arms with a smile, going to the mini ladder to pull himself up. She really had too much power over him, he thought with grin, not really as worried as he probably should have been. He was enjoying himself far too much to worry.

Allura smirked, and then chuckled to herself as Keith reluctantly left her arms to climb the mini ladder. He really had too much power over her, she mused wryly. Anyone else telling her to stay put on the sidelines while they took the risk, no matter how slight – well, they would usually have met with serious problems from her. She was Blue Lion's pilot, for the god's sake! She could handle a mini ladder. With the Voltcom, even a controlled jump from the top of the containers wasn't a real problem. Still, one statement from him had her acquiescing without even a grumble.

Part of it was because of their stations, of course. He was her commander on the team and, as such, she was expected to obey his orders. On top of that, he was still her primary bodyguard in all things royal, so it was expected that she would yield to his directives in regards to her safety. The real reason she did, however, had really nothing to do with either of those reasons.

She did it because he loved her.

Of all the women in the universe he could have chosen, he had chosen her – a young naïve princess from a small, insignificant, war-torn world. It's not that she felt that she wasn't a good catch; it was just that someone as brave, kind, honourable, and drop dead sexy as he was, could have easily chosen someone with a lot less drama in her life. He had laughed when she had mentioned that to him months ago – and had then proceeded to show her just how much he did _not_ mind his situation.

Still, if her beloved had any failings, it was that he was extremely protective of the things he cared about – almost to the point of suffocation, at times. She also knew that this life she had, and the job she helped him do, pushed every protective button that the man possessed. She did wonder if all the worry and protective instincts he supressed for her sake would give him a heart attack one day.

Allura loved Keith – body and soul, virtues and vices. If letting him take the ladder in order to spare her some small risk soothed his concerns, then she wouldn't grumble.

Allura watched as Keith climbed up the last few rungs with ease. Her heart did a little lurch as he repositioned himself on the ladder, reaching out at an awkward angle to see the writing on the inside portion of the container.

"Well, it looks like one of the mythical missing boxes, Allura." Keith grunted, holding his position using only his feet for bracing and his abdominals keeping him upright as he twisted the box precariously on it's perch. "I'm going to send it down to you once I get it enveloped in the anti-grav beam. Stay clear until it gets to the floor, okay?" Allura nodded and watched Keith move himself slightly again as his hand left it's perch to move over the Voltcom in mid-air.

Everything probably would have been fine, until all the lights went out in the vault, plunging the entire facility into absolute, terrifying darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N -** Hope you are hooked! I will try to update daily. Enjoy

**Disclaimer -** I do not own Voltron, just my imagination.

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><p>For one instance, there was complete silence. Allura had just puffed a breath in surprise when a sudden screech of metal sounded above her. A sudden yell of fear echoed through the alcove, causing Allura's hand to go up to her mouth in terror a split second before the sound of a box crashing to the floor, and the ominous thud of what could only be Keith, echoed after it in the darkness. An agonized whoosh of breath could be heard in the same area, followed by a nearly breathless groan.<p>

"Keith!" Allura screamed in terror, taking two steps forward in the darkness, before cursing herself, and fumbling for the light source present on her Voltcom. She blinked several times as the bright light bounced off the white walls of the alcove, and quickly scanned the beam over the floor. Allura gasped as she found both the box and Keith sprawled on the floor, the commander not responding to either the light or the Princess's cry.

Allura rushed over to her beloved's prone form, kneeling down and checking under his jaw for a pulse. The strong, pulsing beat under her fingers had her weak with relief, and she sat back to get her breathing calmer and to access the situation. A loud, overhead clang and thud had her throwing herself over Keith in reflex to protect him from any other falling boxes or debris.

When it became obvious that only dust was falling as a result, Allura got up from her position and quickly checked out the position of Keith's body. She was terrified to move him, or touch him in any way, but she had to see if he was seriously hurt from his fall. She hit several key combinations on the Voltcom, and the light turned off, only to be replaced by a red, diagnostic ray that projected out and hit Keith full on, starting at his feet and scanning upwards. Allura tried to hold her arm as still as possible, and forced herself to read the diagnostic results as they came into the Voltcom; Broken tibia… broken sternum… two broken ribs… mild internal bleeding… concussion. Allura was getting more and more scared with every line of diagnosis. Keith was seriously hurt and she needed to get him out of here immediately.

Allura bit her lower lip, considering her options. She didn't want to leave him, even for a second, but she needed help and the communicators on the Voltcoms didn't work well this far down in the storage vault. The emergency lights hadn't come on, which also worried her. They should have come on if someone was down here and the power failed. Realizing that she didn't have time to really wonder about that, Allura turned her light source back on and then reached down and turned Keith's on as well. She wanted to be able to see him when she came back. Shining her light down the corridor, she walked as fast as she dared to the entrance. When she got there, what she saw made her blood run cold.

The main door was sealed shut.

Allura scanned the door quickly, looking for the manual release. She knew that there had to be a way to open it, but the door was massive and thick, like the old bank vault doors of long ago. Even if she were able to find the release for the door, the weight and sheer size of the door made it unlikely that she would be able to move it. It required motorized hydraulics to open it when everything was working properly. She fought down the rising panic she was feeling and went to the comn console beside the door. The screen was dark and unresponsive, but she kept hitting the redirect button, hoping that the console would connect to the emergency power supply. It seemed to flicker briefly, but then go dark.

"Think, Allura… think." She prodded herself, rubbing her forehead in anxiety. Suddenly she had an idea. After hitting the redirect button, Allura typed in an old code of her father's into the keypad. The old circuit board flickered again, but then the screen flooded to life, and she was able to see the screens in the control room. Allura was stunned momentarily that it worked, but jumped when the screen started to flicker again. Grabbing for her Voltcom, she sent a burst of the emergency data through the connection to signal that they needed help. She watched as the screen silently showed the castle's external data input coming into the control room and her mouth dropped as she watched the readings. The screen started to flicker again and then went to a single diagnostic screen reading before going dark. Allura's hand went to the wall to steady herself with. The last words on the screen had caused her panic to go into overdrive.

STORAGE VAULT IN LOCKDOWN. AIR SEAL SECURE. EMERGENCY POWER DIVERTED TO CASTLE CONTROL.

Allura stood still for a moment and thought about the implications. Only one thing kept coming into her head, but she wasn't sure that she could pull it off, or if it was even possible. It had been so long ago…

"Allura... Princess!" A hoarse, slightly panicked voice broke through her thoughts instantly.

"Keith!" The princess almost ran down the corridor, cursing the darkness as she wound her way back to the Commander. Keith was almost in the same position that Allura had left him, but he seemed to be trying to sit up. Now that she could see his Voltcom light, Allura rushed to his side and knelt down to gently push him back to the floor.

"Shhh, Keith, it's okay. I'm right here. You shouldn't move. You fell and you have some injuries. I need you to be still." Allura was careful not to touch his chest, but rubbed his shoulder and ran her fingers lightly through his hair, hoping to calm him and reassure him of her presence. "We need to have your Voltcom perform some first aid on you and give you something for the pain. I'm going to start the cycle, so I need you to be still and don't move. Can you do that?" She watched as Keith clenched his jaws and nodded, fighting through the fog of pain and confusion to acquiesce to her instructions. She gently lifted his arm onto her lap and touched the sequence on the Voltcom that would run a medical diagnostic on the wearer, and perform emergency first aid to its ability. The Voltcom then asked if pain relief was requested, and she hit the yes button, and watched as Keith's face went from stony and tense to slack and tired as the pain meds flowed into his system.

The medication was the one thing that the Voltcoms had in very limited supply, as it actually had to be stored in the device. Even if Allura donated her supply of the medication, Keith only had a set amount of time before the pain would return in full force if he didn't get help.

Allura watched as the Voltcom's force fields started to compress Keith's leg and chest, shoring them up to act like a protective, invisible cast. She winced unconsciously when his leg bones snapped back into place from the field's pressure on the lower half of his leg. Keith' leg twitched in spasm, but he seemed not to notice otherwise; his laboured breathing got easier as the force field tightened all around his chest, forcing his ribs and sternum in place. Allura glanced at the power readings with concern. The power required to keep up the force fields would eventually drain the battery. She lowered the light intensity on both of their units to minimum in order to conserve the power.

"Allura. Are you okay? Last thing I remember are the lights going out. Were you hurt at all?" Keith's eyes were glazed, but intense as he scanned her, looking for any indication that she was hurt. Allura felt a surge of love fill her. The man was a mass of injuries and his first thought was for her. She gently stroked his cheek and bent down to kiss his forehead softly, trying to reassure him with her touch.

"Yes, sweetheart, I'm fine. I'm more concerned about you at the moment. The Voltcom is taking care of the worst of your injuries, but we need to get you some proper medical attention."

"I guess that we just have to wait here then, until help arrives."

Allura bit her lower lip. "I think that will take more time than we have, unfortunately. I was able to get a screen working near the door. That snow storm that we have been tracking since yesterday? Well, it's gotten to the castle much earlier than we expected, apparently. It seems to have knocked out our entire power grid. It seems as though the castle is running on emergency battery power only." Keith's eyes widened in surprise at the news. He couldn't even imagine the power of a storm that could knock out the castle's entire power grid.

"So, it will be difficult for them to get to us." He stated.

"Actually, it might be close to impossible to get to us. The door to the storage vault requires power to open and close, as far as I can tell. Right now it has us shut in here, and I haven't found a way to open it."

Keith's eyes narrowed as he looked at her. "Why do I get the feeling that you haven't told me the worst news, yet?"

Allura broke eye contact, and looked down for a moment. "The storage vault is designed to be airtight, so…"

"So that means we could suffocate before help arrives." Keith finished quietly for her. Allura looked at Keith and nodded, her mouth forming a tight line on her face.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N —** Hope everyone had a great Christmas. Thanks for all the reviews so far. I now get to read and review all the fics of my K/A peeps that I have been shamefully ignoring while trying to finish this, so get ready all of you! lol Enjoy!

**Disclaimer —** I do not own Voltron, just my imagination.

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><p>Keith closed his eyes and let his head fall back onto the floor. This evening was just getting better and better. "And we're sure that the door is the only way in or out?" he asked, just to clarify.<p>

Allura's head wobbled side to side as her eyes drifted upward. "Theoretically" she said, finally. That got Keith to open his eyes and level her with a 'give me more' look. She sighed. "When Doom attacked the castle for the first time, I was only a young child. As you know, Coran was tasked with getting me out of the castle and hidden, if anything happened to my father. The day my father died, I was packed up quickly and taken through the castle, along with Nanny, several guards, and courtesans who were loyal to the crown. I was very tired and confused when they had me running through the castle, but I am virtually certain that we came through here as we were escaping."

"Wait, are you telling me that there is a secret exit out of the castle, and it may be down here?" At her nod, Keith blew a breath out and slowly digested that piece of news. "Why isn't it on any of the new maps, and why haven't I heard about it before now?" Allura shrugged and caressed his head absently. "The exit was only supposed to be used by the royal family, and only as a last resort in times of greatest danger. From what I remember, virtually no one was supposed to know about it. The only people that are still alive from the night when I left are Nanny, Coran, Dr. Gorma and I. Everyone else either died in the attacks or from illnesses in the caves." Allura paused for a second, as her eyes took on the far away look of an old memory. " I remember it being a very harrowing trip through a lot of tunnels; twists and turns and shaking as missiles from the Doom ships bombarded the land above us. There was even a cave in right behind us. At least one member of our group was left behind because of it. Funny, I haven't thought of that night for years." She took a shaky breath then looked down at Keith, with a smile. "I guess being in here in the darkness brought all the memories back."

Keith sucked in a breath, and closed his eyes and nodded. It was sometimes easy to forget just how difficult Allura's life had been as a young girl; how much she had experienced and suffered along with the rest of her people in the early years after Doom invaded. She was normally so positive and determined; it was always shocking when the years before Voltron were mentioned. It always gave him a little kick in the gut when he thought about it. He sometimes wished to himself that he had been with her, even then, to ease her burden a little.

Of course, he probably wouldn't have been allowed anywhere near her, given their stations in life, and their age difference. He once again thanked all the gods in the universe, that Black Lion had accepted him and allowed him the opportunity to be with her.

Keith lifted his hand slowly, and smiled when she automatically took it in her own. "I hate that you went through all of that. Doom still has a lot to answer for. Maybe, though, if you can remember how to get out of here, we can beat the odds once again." Allura nodded and gave him another smile as he brought her hand to his lips to kiss. She sat back for a moment keeping her right hand in his and the other hand absently stroking his soft black hair. She closed her eyes, thinking of her flight out of the castle, all those years ago, especially as it related to the facility they were in.

"The doors were different. I remember thinking that it looked like a big closet door, rather than an entrance to a large area" she said slowly, subtly moving her head, as though she was running it once again. " There were lots of boxes and things that were covered with large tarps to protect them from dust. I remember debris falling from above as the bombs rained down on the castle. The ground shook with the force." Allura unconsciously tightened her grip on Keith's hand and he pulled her hand to his face to lean his cheek against it. He felt like he was living it with her.

"I remember…" Allura's eyes clenched in concentration as she fell silent. Keith stared mutely at her. Reliving the night could not be easy, but he was hesitant to break her concentration, for fear the memory might slip away. No one knew that they were down here, as she had wanted to surprise everyone with the decorations, and spend some stolen moments with him as well. They would not look for them here, at least not right away, and Keith privately wondered if he had as much time left as their already limited oxygen gave them. He really was lucky to be alive at all, after that very bad fall, but other injuries could be present that the Voltcom wasn't registering. The pain med quantities he had been given usually knocked someone out cold, but he was awake and alert, which told him that the meds were holding back some really serious agony. He was no stranger to pain, but he shuddered a little at the thought of experiencing it at that level, while Allura stood by, having to watch it and feeling helpless. The meds were also making him feel a little buzzed, and a little sick, from his empty stomach, but it was still tolerable.

Suddenly, Allura sucked in a short breath and opened her eyes wide, realization dawning there. She leaned over and kissed Keith on the forehead as she let go of his hand and got up. She walked down the hall, pausing every so often to look at an alcove and shine her light onto the boxes.

"Allura?" Keith questioned, finally. She seemed to be operating in the past, her eyes only scanning her surroundings and the light flashing haphazardly around the alcoves.

"It has to be here." She murmured to herself, still flashing her light across the boxes. "I know I've seen them here before… here!" She cried out, as she went deeper into an alcove and disappeared from Keith's sight altogether. He suppressed a surge of panic at her disappearance, and relaxed when he saw her come back to him, using a light jog to get to him faster. "I think I've found the exit. I just had to find the alcove that had the puppets in it." Allura sank down to her knees, as she pushed buttons on her Voltcom.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N—** On to the next chapter. Thanks for all the reviews.

**Disclaimer —** I don't own Voltron, just my imagination.

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><p>"Allura, wait. Stop. Back up. What do you mean, you found the exit, and how are puppets involved, exactly"<p>

Allura let out an embarrassed laugh. "I suddenly remembered why I didn't like this place very much."

"You mean other than the fact that this place is dark, eerily silent and stupidly creepy? Really? You needed another reason?"

Allura laughed more easily and rolled her eyes. "Yes, there was one other thing. When we were at the entrance to the secret exit, Nanny was holding me, and I remember being face to face with the side of a box that held the most terrifying heads looking out at me. I'm pretty sure I screamed, and Nanny had to put her hand over my mouth to keep me quiet. Moments later we were shoved through the doorway and into the damp blackness of the tunnel. I had nightmares about those disembodied faces for a long time afterwards.

I didn't think about it for years, but I remember an elderly former servant in the caves, talking to me about her time serving in the castle. She told me that my father and grandfather used to love the puppet shows that one of the staff would put on for their amusement. In those days, I would drink up anything that anyone could tell me about my mother or father. When I asked why I had never seen one of the puppet shows, she told me that the puppet master had passed years before and all his belongings had been put into storage, or so she had assumed. I remember putting two and two together and realized that the puppets were what I probably saw, all those years ago. I was never bothered by the nightmare after I figured it out."

Keith watched Allura fiddle with her Voltcom for a few more seconds, and then closed his eyes to rest. They snapped open when he heard Allura's triumphant shout, almost immediately followed by his body suddenly levitating off the ground and stopping about hip height.

"Sorry," she grinned at him. "I was having troubles compensating for the force fields from your Voltcom. I think I got it worked out, though."

Keith smiled tiredly. "A job worthy of Pidge I'm sure." He smiled wider when she stuck her tongue out at him for his cheek. "Don't stick that tongue out, unless you plan to use it, Princess." He warned her, and was rewarded with a beautiful blush that coloured her cheeks.

"I'd punch your arm for your cheekiness, if I wasn't afraid of breaking you further." She huffed at him, and watched as his smile turned tender at the way she was looking after him. After a second, she relented and gave him a sweet kiss on his lips. She never could resist his charms.

Allura then proceeded to push Keith to the alcove in question, pushing him past the fabled puppet box. One look at it had Keith agreeing with Allura that it did look incredibly creepy. For a child it would have been downright terrifying. He had to admit, it was a great marker for a place that he would actively avoid going near if those puppets were there.

Keith tilted his head up to watch Allura study the back wall of the alcove. There, by what looked like an electrical box, was a small white enamelled disc, bearing the crest of Arus. She surprised him by running her hand over the box beside it until she stopped suddenly and flinched slightly. When she pulled her hand back, a small drop of blood was on the tip of her index finger, which she proceeded to wipe over top of the white, Arusian crest. For a second, nothing happened. Then, the electrical panel slid aside to reveal lever pointed upright.

"DNA blood sensor?" He asked her, shaking his head in disbelief.

Allura shrugged. "I've seen it before. I guess it makes sense if the passageway was to be only be used by the royal family. What do you think, pull the lever down?" she asked.

Keith shrugged as well, but nodded. Allura pulled down hard, and watched as a door opened, virtually silent, with only a small whoosh, indicating that the seal to the room was broken. "Well, we know that we won't suffocate, anyway." He remarked. "The question now is do we bother leaving here or do we stay?"

Allura hesitated, and then touched his boot. " I think that we need to try to leave. The safe house, if we can get there, might have medical supplies and communication equipment." What she didn't say was that she really wanted to get out of here in the worst way. There was no food or water, and she was terrified that Keith was going to need a lot more help. His colour was already looking wan, but she had noticed that he felt warm a few minutes ago. If he spiked a fever, she had no way of treating it, even assuming that she knew what she was doing. Emergency first aid wasn't going to do it.

Keith looked at her for a moment, considering. He finally nodded and smiled at her encouragingly. He knew she was worried about him, and really, if she wanted to go, he wasn't in a position to argue. That all changed when he started to be lowered back to the floor.

"I'm sorry, but I need my Voltcom to see in the tunnel. I can't have you fall to the floor when I get out of range."

"Allura, you are not leaving me here, while you go into that tunnel all alone!" Keith had gently landed on the stone floor, and he tried to sit up, hissing through his teeth as his chest compressed into his torso. "It's way too dangerous. The ceiling could collapse. There could be animals in the tunnels. The air could be bad, or there could be pockets of poisoned, toxic water. We have to go together."

Allura pressed her lips together, in an effort not to smile. "And how would I be any safer with you there? Don't worry; I'm just doing a quick recon of the tunnel to see if it's still passable. I'll be back in a few moments. No unnecessary risks for me." She bent over his head to give him a quick kiss, which became substantially longer when his hand came up and wrapped itself behind her head and into her hair.

When he finally let her go, he whispered, "I'll hold you to that, Allura." He looked hard into her eyes, before his hand dropped to his side. Allura nodded mutely. Partially, she was breathless from the kiss, but she had also noticed that he was starting to get warmer to her touch, and it was making her panic a little. She wordlessly got up and headed into the tunnel, taking her light with her and leaving him in a small glow of light from his own Voltcom. He decided that if he got out of this, he would definitely get Pidge to increase the battery life on those things.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N — Thanks to everyone again for all the great reviews! I'm so glad you are all enjoying it. On to chapter 5!

Disclaimer — I don't own Voltron, just my imagination

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><p>Allura returned about twenty minutes later, by which time Keith had seriously started to think of ways to get into that tunnel, his health be damned. His initial relief at seeing her unhurt turned to worry when he saw the look on her face. She quickly hid it behind a smile to him, but he already knew that something was bothering her. He held out his hand to her and squeezed hers when she slipped it into his own. Even after six months, he still couldn't believe that she loved him – that she came to him for her comfort. He pulled her down gently to a sitting position, and used his other hand to cup her face and look at her with concern. She leaned into his hand and closed her eyes, breathing out slowly. Her other hand came up and went over his. "What's the matter, sweetheart? You're agitated. Was there a problem?"<p>

Allura opened her eyes, and smiled more genuinely at him. She twisted her head slightly to kiss his palm on her cheek. "No, nothing is really wrong. I guess I just underestimated the impact that being in that tunnel would have on me. It's funny; I thought that I had worked out all those negative memories years ago. I haven't thought of those times in forever, and it wasn't the worst thing to happen to me. I have plenty of other memories that can keep me up at night. It's just that… the sounds of the tunnel… the smell of the earth around me… the colour of the walls… all of that just hit me all of a sudden. I felt like I was suddenly ten years old again, only this time, I was alone in the dark. You were right. I probably should have had you with me."

Keith viciously shoved down the unreasonable, almost pathological, need to pull her down to him and kiss her until she couldn't even remember her name, never mind the demons from her past. It was probably a good thing that he was incapacitated; otherwise he would be doing just that. Then he would be leaving her here while he went into that damn tunnel and found the exit. She shouldn't be reliving a nightmare and saving their asses. Saving her was his job, dammit!

At Keith's snort, Allura tilted her head in curiosity and he smiled in wry amusement. "I'm going to remember that you said that. I'm told that I'm right so rarely. I was just thinking, however, that it was supposed to be my job to save you, and I suddenly got a vision of you throwing something at me for daring to think that you would ever need saving."

Allura barked out a laugh, unexpectedly. She covered her mouth as she snickered and only dropped it to smile at him, a mischievous twinkle dancing in her eye. His statement had caught her completely off guard. Throwing something at him, while sometimes fantasized about when she was unusually peeved, was so far off her character, that she was hit with a fit of the giggles at the very notion. "Then prepare to be amazed yet again, Commander. You are considered right; twice in as many minutes. I will not let my honour be impuned by anyone who dares to think that I might need any saving. They will feel the wrath of my pitching arm!" Allura then bent her arm to flex her bicep muscle at him, which made Keith laugh, until the pain of laughing broke through the medication and left him breathless. He started to cough, which brought a further bout of agony until some blood came out of his mouth with the force of the coughing.

Allura jumped at the coughing, and dropped down to bring Keith's head onto her lap, so that he might breathe easier. He wanted to roll onto his side, but his ribs were in no shape to accept the weight of his torso. Allura braced him up as far as she dared, and ran her hands through his hair in order to soothe both her and him. Allura was both upset and angry with herself for making Keith laugh, but Keith smiled up at her when the pain subsided. He used the sleeve of his uniform top to wipe his mouth, and then grabbed one of her hands to kiss again. He was annoyed at himself for coughing and breaking the mood, but he was happy that her childhood trauma was not at the forefront of her mind. "You always hurt the ones you love." He smiled up at her again and winked.

Allura huffed in exasperation, but her lips twisted into a smile, in spite of herself. "Then you must be the most loved man in history." She smiled when he snorted in agreement.

When it seemed that Keith was breathing easier, Allura started to fiddle with her Voltcom again, in order to lift him up to enter the tunnel. The process went faster this time, and within minutes, they were ready to go. Allura had reported to Keith what she had seen in the tunnel as she had progressed in the darkness. The tunnel was mostly as she had remembered it, and Keith could see why Allura had a hard time as she had advanced into it. The lights on both of their Voltcoms were still active, but the darkness and shadows still seemed to dance threateningly, just outside of their vision. Keith had made her lead him headfirst, so he could hold her hand, and his instinct proved correct. When they got past the point where she turned back, Allura's breathing got a little quicker, and beads of sweat appeared on her upper lip, though her face was a mask of non-emotion. Keith held on to her, and she squeezed his hand often, as the emotions flooded through her.

They travelled for well over an hour; going through twists and turns. Keith very nearly had his head knocked off when they strayed too close to an outcropping of rock, and Allura came close to falling several times when she stumbled on the uneven surface of the tunnel floor. Through it all, they held onto each other – taking from as well as giving comfort to one another.

They found the cave-in that Allura had remembered. The tunnel fortunately was still passable, as the debris had obviously shifted and opened up a space that Allura could crawl, and he could float, through. She made a little whimper as she quickly scanned the rocks for some sign that there had been someone buried there, but they didn't find any evidence, and they quickly moved on – concerned that any disturbance of the debris might cause the area to destabilize further.

The only other time they stopped was when Keith needed to take more pain medication. This used up the last of his supply, but it couldn't be helped. He had tried to last as long as possible, but the pain had become so intense that he was losing focus on everything else, and Keith was still not convinced that the tunnels were safe enough to be anything less than completely alert. There was also the fact that Allura, while much calmer, was also battling her own reaction to this place and its memories. It was not the best combination.

They needed to get to the end of this place quickly. The pain meds that he had taken were supposed to last for over four hours – they had lasted only about two and a half. Coupled with that, if he were to take Allura's supply of the medication, he would have to remove his Voltcom to access the compartment. That meant removing the force field that surrounded his injuries – including his broken leg and sternum. Keith shuddered a little at the thought of doing that when the meds had completely worn off.

There was also the elephant in the room, that both of them were actively trying to avoid mentioning. Keith was getting sicker. He knew for certain now that he had a fever, and that was after the influence of the meds to keep his temperature down. If they didn't find help soon, he might be in a lot more trouble than just broken bones and debilitating pain.

Keith squeezed Allura's hand to get her attention. "Allura, we've got to move faster. Do you know how much farther we have to go?"

Allura glanced down at him a moment, then gazed around absently at the walls, dimly illuminated by her Voltcom, thinking. "I don't think that it's much farther now. I don't know for certain, but I remember thinking that the walls were closing in on me just before we reached the safe house, and the tunnel_ is_ getting narrower here. Let's get moving." Her breathing was more laboured, and she had started coughing occasionally, which worried him.

Suddenly, Allura stumbled, and only Keith's hold on her hand prevented her from doing a face plant onto the ground. Her eyes looked a little glazed and she started to cough harder, leaning against the side of the tunnel for support. "Allura, get your helmet on! The air must be bad!" Allura nodded, and activated her space suit, which included an oxygen generator. Immediately she went to activate his, but he pulled away slightly and shook his head. "Don't worry about me. I'm not moving and I'll survive for the time being. You need to get us out of here!" Allura hesitated for a second, then nodded and grabbed his hand tighter and started jogging as fast as the light allowed her to move without running into objects.

The pace was terrifying for Keith – especially with him going backwards and unable to see the path before them – but he had to trust that Allura would find her way and keep them both safe. He closed his eyes against his rising nausea, but had to open them again after a moment. It went against his nature to be passive, and if he noticed anything that might help her, then he wouldn't let her down. The ceiling was flying above him and the shadows wheeled in bizarre patterns. Before he realized it, the whole place felt like it was spinning, and he closed his eyes, as everything finally went black.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N —** Last day of the weekend. To all who have commented about my cliffhangers — Bwahahaha! I learned how to do them from all of you Voltron-writing peeps! You really have no one to blame but yourselves;-) Enjoy!

**Disclaimer—** I do not own Voltron, just my imagination.

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><p>Keith almost shot past her when Allura came to a sudden stop. Hauling back on his hand, Allura stopped his forward motion and looked intently at the wall on the right side of them. The tunnel appeared to go on into the darkness, but she hesitated when she saw the shallow, circular depression in the wall. It looked very familiar all of a sudden, and she had a gut feeling that this is where they were supposed to be. She started to feel her way around the depression, trying to find anything that would indicate that there was a doorway, or any other kind of exit from the tunnel. She had almost given up when she spotted another disc with a crest on it and pushed on it hard. She was hoping that she wasn't going to need more blood to open it, and felt a flash of relief when a small crack appeared in the rock.<p>

Allura looked at Keith in excitement, but her breath caught in her throat when she saw his eyes closed and sweat covering his face. She squeezed his hand but was met with almost no response, which kicked her panic into overdrive, touching and patting his face and calling out his name. At his low, almost inaudible moan, Allura was able to get a grip on herself and she threw herself at the door, pushing and shoving at it like a woman possessed, trying to get it opened. When she had pushed enough to get herself in, she braced her back on the side of the doorframe and used her legs and feet to give one last push. The circular door groaned as it finally gave way, and Allura bolted upright and pulled Keith into the bunker. While she pushed the door shut with her feet again, she took a quick scan of the air quality, and was relieved that it seemed to be good, although Keith had been correct, and the air in the tunnel had definitely had too much carbon monoxide in it. Fortunately, the door was closing much easier, and she was able to seal it shut with only a few determined shoves.

0o0o0o0o

The first thing that Keith was aware of was the sound of his own breathing. The sound was a little tinny, and he realized that he must have his helmet on. He could still feel the force fields around his body, and since he was still relatively pain-free, he concluded that he hadn't been out for long. He also noticed that he couldn't feel Allura touching him, which was enough to bring him fully alert, and concerned for her safety. His eyes snapped open, and what he saw made his eyes widen even further.

The room was large and bright. It resembled the tunnel in form, but the walls were wide, curved and smooth – painted in bright creams and soft earth tones. There were rough beams crossing the curved ceiling, but Keith noted that, while they were no doubt functional, they also added to the aesthetics of the space. Right across from him, there was a cheery fire crackling in the fireplace, and a pot sat on a metal grate above it, with steam rising out of it. The place reminded him of a log cabin, right out of the pioneer days in North America's history back on Earth.

"Allura!" He called out with a croak, and was rewarded when she came to him immediately, the lines of worry around her eyes immediately smoothing when she realized he was awake. Her eyes darted down and she started to adjust his Voltcom, and a few seconds later the helmet disappeared and her hand was able to come up to touch his face tenderly.

"Oh Keith, I'm so sorry! I should have made you wear your helmet when I did, but I was worried about draining the battery. Instead, I almost let you die from carbon monoxide poisoning. You scared me to death! Don't ever do that to me again!" Her lip trembled slightly and her eyes shone with unshed tears as her thumb rubbed his face softly.

"How long was I out?" he asked, his voice still croaky, and his throat dry from the sanitized, Voltcom air. His head ached and his heart hurt a little that she was so upset and he had the urge to hold her in his arms, despite the pain.

He tried to raise his right arm and met with some resistance. A glance down told him that Allura had removed her Voltcom from her arm and had hooked it up to his own, no doubt to give his the extra power boost it needed to do everything. "You needed extra oxygen to remove the carbon monoxide build up, so I piggy-backed my 'com to yours and had the helmet give you more concentrated oxygen. You were out for about two hours, I would estimate. Since I couldn't do anything else except wait, I kept myself busy." Keith took a good look around and was amazed at what she seemed to have done. The pot smelled like it had food in it and Keith's mouth started to water. The fire itself was quite impressive, although it was fairly easy to accomplish with their tech.

Allura removed her Voltcom from his and helped him to sit up a little, and he realized that he was in a fairly large bed, pulled out a little from the wall so that Allura was able to reach both sides of it. She then went to far side of the room and grabbed a bottle of water and handed it to him. Keith opened it gratefully, and drank it sparingly. He hadn't realized how thirsty he was, but his rolling stomach made him guess that over indulging in anything might result in it making an exit, and he was positive that his ribs would not handle that too well. He distracted himself by watching Allura bend over the simmering pot and ladle the concoction into some bowls. Unfortunately watching Allura's backside was a little too effective as a distraction, and he had to shift his gaze around the room to center himself again.

Keith checked out the door that they had presumably entered. It was almost a complete circle with sturdy metal alloy hinges on one side and sliding locks and handle on the other. Now that he was looking around, he noticed at least two other doors, each on a different wall and at least one maybe two rooms off the main one they were currently in. Against one wall, there were boxes and barrels like the ones in the storage vault, except these ones seemed to hold supplies like food packs, water, linens, weapons and various other provisions that might be needed if your intention was to be there for awhile.

"Allura, where exactly on Arus are we?" he asked with wonder.

Allura came around to sit on the bed, facing him slightly, and handed him the bowl of stew that she had made. "Well, the Voltcom says that we are about twenty-five metres inside a hill, about six kilometres away from the castle. I'm guessing that it's the rolling hills at the base of the old capital city."

As Keith listened, he was struck by a sudden realization. "We're in a Hobbit hole!" he said with a laugh, careful this time of disturbing his ribs. Allura gave him one of her adorable looks which told him she didn't get the reference, but Keith just waved his hand in a dismissive gesture as he smiled wider, taking in the architecture in a whole different light. "Remind me to give you some books by an old Terran author, who wrote about little people who lived under hills, in homes that had round doors, and went on daunting adventures and terrifying quests."

Allura snorted. "That sounds something like us – at least the daunting and terrifying adventures part. The hobble hole, maybe not so much."

"Hobbit hole, Princess." He grinned even wider. "It was just fiction, but it really captured the imagination. I hope you read it, sometime."

Allura smiled and nodded slightly while she ate the stew beside him. Keith gingerly ate some, and almost immediately felt better, as the tasty, filling stew settled his stomach. He had eaten these kind of rehydrated provisions before, when the team had been on missions, or out camping, and he noted that Allura had fixed the one that was his favourite. He smiled softly at the bowl in front of him, and the thoughtfulness that was behind it. He started out eating cautiously, but by the end he was eating at his normal pace, and Allura laughed at him as he began scraping the bottom of the bowl, trying to get the last of the broth. Allura went to grab him some more stew, when he placed his hand on her arm to stop her. "No, that's okay. Can you sit with me a bit?" Allura stopped and slowly lowered herself back down onto the side of the bed, placing the empty bowls and spoons on the side table. She had been able to raise him to almost upright, but looking at the thin line of his mouth and the flare of his nose, Allura knew that she had run out of time for the other things that needed to be done.

"Sure, I can sit, but I have to ask you something. How much pain are you in right now? And, please don't lie to me and say none, because I know when you're full of it."

Keith's lips tightened into an even finer line. "A little." He said, finally. " I think that it's better than it was last time. This bed is probably helping." Allura's eyes narrowed at him, but she suddenly seemed to come to a decision, and sighed.

"I need to take your Voltcom off and exchange it for mine." She put up her hand to stall his protests and continued. "I know that this isn't the best option. The 'com works much better on it's owner, as we know. But, mine has a full set of meds in it, and I was able to recharge it to about seventy percent. Your Voltcom will be running out of life in the next hour, at most."

"There is a Voltcom charger here?" He asked, incredulously.

"No, an induction charger." She pointed to the metal plate that was seated across the room, that currently had Allura's Voltcom sitting on top of it. "The energy transfer is slow and the tech is just barely compatible. Thanks be to Pidge, once again, for his backwards compatibility fetish. You will wear my Voltcom; have the force fields surround you and take the meds if you need them, while your Voltcom sits on the charger. When it's finished, we'll transfer you back to your own, but I'll put the rest of the medicine into your unit, so that you won't have to transfer back again if you need another dose." Keith noticed that she said _if_ and not _when_, and he appreciated her optimism.

"Okay" he sighed, blowing out a breath, to prepare himself for the inevitable discomfort. He had Allura lean him back so that he was flat on his back, and then tapped in the code to release the force fields and the Voltcom from his arm.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N — **Hope everyone liked the last chapter! The hobbit reference was a result of a Twitter comment from Cubbie, so full credit goes to her for the idea. This chapter was a lot of fun for me to write, so I hope you like it. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer — **I don't own Voltron, just my imagination.

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><p>Ten minutes later, Keith was breathing a sigh of relief as the force fields once again wrapped around his torso and leg. Allura had worked very quickly, and had performed the programming in record time. He doubted that even Pidge or Hunk could have done it quicker. He looked up to compliment her, but was surprised when he found her with her back to him, cleaning the bowls from their dinner, and being suspiciously quiet. "Allura?" he questioned, quietly.<p>

When she didn't answer, he started to get even more worried. He wondered if the stress and worry she was undoubtedly feeling was going to overwhelm her, now that they were safe for the moment. He was also a little worried that she really was angry at him for overriding her about wearing his helmet. If he had died, she never would have forgiven herself, even though it wouldn't have been her fault. She had only obeyed his orders. Keith took a deep breath and continued. "Your Highness, can you come and help me sit up a bit, please?"

Allura continued to clean for a few minutes more, though she had paused for a second at the mention of "Your Highness". When she finished, she came over quickly and gently helped him into a sitting position – placing pillows and rolls of fabric behind him until he was comfortable and secure. When she turned to leave, he grabbed her wrist and used his other hand to raise her chin so she would look him in the eye. "Will Her Highness please tell me what I have done to offend her?" he said softly, looking at her with concern. Her face was tense, and her eyes seemed to be holding back some tears.

Allura gave a mirthless laugh. "It's okay, Keith. You don't have to be nice to me anymore. You can yell at me to your heart's content. I deserve it. It seems like I can't keep you from getting injured, even when Doom isn't to blame. I dragged you down into the storage area to get even more decorations, and hopefully spend some time with you." She got up from her position, shaking off Keith's hand and started to pace back and forth at the end of the bed, gesturing as she spoke. "Instead, you get injured over my admittedly extreme obsession, and almost suffocated by carbon monoxide poisoning, both in the storage area, and in the tunnels. I'm starting to think that being with me is hazardous to your health. Well, admittedly I've thought that for a while, but it feels like this has just brought it home.

I just wanted us to decorate the tree and the rec area, with the snow falling in the background. In all the photos about Christmas, they show a tree being decorated while during a snowfall, right? I thought that this snowstorm would be just perfect.

All of you should have a really traditional Christmas. None of you ever go back to Earth at this time of year, and your families must miss having you there during the holidays. I just wanted to make it perfect for you… to thank you all for the work you put into defending our planet. I should have been tracking the storm better. I feel like I've messed this all up." Allura stopped pacing and faced the wall, her eyes closed and a few tears of sadness and frustration making their way down her cheek.

Keith couldn't help it – he started to chuckle. "Gods, Allura. You really don't see yourself clearly sometimes!" He gazed at her in amused frustration, which promptly turned into adoration when he saw her face perk up in surprise.

She really was adorable.

"Here I was thinking about how amazing you have been through all of this craziness. You really stepped up, took command, and took care of us. We're probably alive right now, only because you found us a way out and got us here safely. This whole experience was not easy for you, but you not only came through it, you dragged me along with you and kept me safe."

Allura came over to sit on the bed, facing him. She grabbed his hands and squeezed, and bent forward to kiss him quickly on the lips. "I just did what needed to be done. I would never forgive myself if I let anything happen to you. Besides," her voice dropped down to a quiet murmur, "you would do no less for me."

Keith nodded, unable to deny her words. He thought about saying that it was also his job to look after her, but they both knew that was only the official line for a commitment that was whole lot deeper than just duty. Keith thought about their conversation and came to a decision. She still seemed very upset about all the team's "sacrifices" for Arus. "Don't worry about us, Allura. You were right when you said that we all defend our planet. _Our_ planet. Arus is our home now. We've all felt that way for a very long time. No special thanks are needed from you for the honour of defending _our_ people.

"As for missing our families," Keith hesitated again. The team had made a pledge not to let Allura know, but she really was feeling bad, and he didn't want her to feel like an idiot when she eventually found out. "We all take the time to be with our families during the holidays." At her bewildered expression, he gently took her hands again and kissed the backs of them as he fought back a smile that was tugging at his lips. "You know we often go to Earth during this hemisphere's summer months. Allura, the Earth's rotation doesn't match with Arus. There are fewer days in a year on Earth and the length of months is not the same either."

Allura's eyes widened, as realization suddenly dawned "So, on Earth, Christmas takes place…"

" This decade – in the Arusian month of Sachan." _July_.

Allura stared at him for a good five seconds, before her eyes rolled heavenward and she closed them in embarrassment. The boys would often take turns, every other year, and leave for Earth for a few days in Sachan, but she had never made the connection as to when that actually was on Earth. Despite Keith's intention, she felt like an idiot. Worse, she felt very self absorbed, thinking only of Arus and not about any other planet that might be important to someone else. Sure, she had researched the holiday of Christmas, but had she even bothered to find out when it actually was, on Earth? Gods, she felt like a child!

Allura bent her head down and took one of her hands, and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "So was anyone going to ever tell me about this?" she asked.

Keith smiled and shook his head. "It wasn't a big deal to us, Princess. We all like the Arusian holiday better. Balto doesn't even have the holiday. Pidge only went to Earth if his brother was going to be there. Lance and Hunk, well they took turns and went every other year, partially not to leave Voltron short, but also because they thought that every other year was all they could stand being around all of their families." He grinned at the thought of the stories he was told of their families' antics, and how each man swore they weren't going back, every year when they returned to Arus.

"As for me, well I don't have any family there anymore. Besides," he grabbed her hand back and pulled her close to his face, his lips ghosting her forehead. "There is no point in going back to Earth, when my family – my home – is right here, in my arms." He whispered, kissing her forehead, then capturing her lips when she raised her head to kiss him back.

Allura wrapped her arms loosely around his neck, kissing him slowly and thoroughly. After all they had been through these past hours, the need for contact was very strong for both of them. His arms snaked around to her back, absently stroking up and down her spine, while her hands rubbed the back of his neck, and played with the soft, long tufts of hair in front of his ears. When they both came up for air, they smiled at each other. Allura scooted forward to lie beside him on the bed, curled up next to him, carefully avoiding the force fields surrounding his chest. Keith, for his part, kept his arm around Allura's waist, thinking that he definitely wanted to come back here with her when he was all patched up. Just not through the tunnel, though.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N — Enjoy!

Disclaimer — I don't own Voltron, just my imagination.

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><p>They laid with each other for over half an hour, enjoying their own company, when Allura suddenly perked up and jumped out of the bed to run over, grab a remote, and present it to Keith with a flourish. At Keith's puzzled expression, Allura took the remote, and aimed it at the wall across from them. Almost instantly, a white and black fuzzy picture appeared on the wall.<p>

"It's a vid of the area above. We're seeing the blizzard rage overhead. I don't see the castle. I guess they are still without power." Allura commented. Keith looked at the image, stunned by it.

"Whose been holding out, now." He asked mildly, concentrating on the snow and any possible images behind it. He watched the storm whip around and over the camera with a wild frenzy that was a little frightening to behold. He couldn't imagine that you could see more than a metre in front of you, if you were unlucky enough to get caught out in that maelstrom. He had long ago heard about people on the pioneer homesteads that would miss their homes by centimetres in a blizzard, and walk out onto the prairie and die, looking for a home that might be only metres away. If he hadn't believed it before, this storm had him convinced.

"Allura, where are we getting our power?" Keith was suddenly conscious of the fact that the fire wouldn't last forever, and the charging Voltcom and the vid must be drawing some significant power. Depending on how long the storm lasted, and how long the castle was without power, they could still be in some serious trouble.

Allura shrugged and motioned to a small computer console in one corner of the room. "That's the main terminal for the whole complex. I didn't read everything, but it looks like there is a massive underground battery, that takes advantage of some underground thermals in the area. There are also some solar arrays hidden in the debris of the old city. There is another room through that door, that has massive amounts of wood, blankets, food, water, and – most important for our needs – medicines and medical equipment."

"While you were out, I rummaged through what was available and found some useful things. I gave you a shot of antibiotics and a shot of painkiller, about ten minutes before you woke up. The pain meds aren't as good as the ones in the Voltcom, but you were starting to move around and I was terrified that you'd hurt yourself. I didn't dare remove your Voltcom to replace it with mine for that reason. I didn't want to risk your ribs and leg being unprotected. The antibiotic was the recommended dose, but I'm sure Dr. Gorma or Andria will be able to give you better treatment when we get back." She had grabbed his hand again, clinging to it as she willed him not to worry about anything but getting better.

Keith smiled at her reassuringly, but blew out a breath in contemplation. He should have known that the lessening of the pain was too good to be true. He also didn't feel as feverish, so the meds must have had an extra fever reducer in them too. He stared at the snowy screen, thinking about the castle and the people inside. He hoped that everyone was okay. The team would be worried when they couldn't reach them on the 'com unit. Of course, everyone would be frantic that the Princess was missing.

Keith snorted to himself. The council would be more frantic that the Princess was missing with _him_ than they would be that she was simply missing. He was sure that it would relieve them to no end that he had been injured during their time out of contact. It would have prevented him from getting too handsy with her. He smiled inwardly at the horror they would feel if they knew how often she contrived to get her hands all over _him_!

After a moment, he looked up into Allura's beautiful green eyes and his heart softened in gratefulness and love. She had done an incredible job of not only looking after him, but also rescuing them both from potentially – no, definitely – life threatening situations. He knew she was worried, not only about the people in the castle, but about the people who lived in the area and were pinned down, hopefully somewhere warm. That would be the first thing they would do when the storm abated – get the Lions and check to make sure that everyone was safe.

Keith smiled up at her again, taking her hand to bring it to his lips in a chaste, romantic kiss. "I'll stop worrying if you will, my princess." He said, gently, watching as her lips curved up slightly in a smile at his teasing. He glanced at the screen again. "I don't think that there is anything more that we can do tonight. Why don't you lie down with me and we'll get some sleep. We've both had a very stressful, trying day, and we'll need our wits about us when they start to look for us."

Allura hesitated for a moment, and then nodded her assent. She was exhausted from their ordeal, and she would have to get up at least once more in the night to give Keith his antibiotic and pain medication. There was nothing to be gained by remaining awake in the interim. She had to be alert for Keith when he needed her, and if her presence gave him some comfort, then she wouldn't deny him.

She went back to her original position, curled up beside him as she pulled the blankets over them, with her cheek touching his shoulder. His arm snaked under her neck, trailing across her shoulders and his hand left to rest on her arm. He reached over and kissed her on the forehead, resting his head on hers. She smirked. "Well this isn't the way I pictured us spending our first full night in bed together."

Keith snorted in response. "Yes, I was expecting a great deal less clothing when that glorious day occurred." He laughed softly at the blush that tinged her cheeks. "I like this as well, though. Having you right here beside me feels amazing, no matter how it came about."

"I want this forever." She said quietly, her eyes closing as the combination of the blankets and Keith's strong body beside her, made her feel warm and safe."

"We'll have it, my love." He whispered into her hair, letting her comforting presence wash over him. It was the first time that she had spoken about forever. She usually studiously avoided that concept with him. His soul soared at the thought that she was letting her heart trust in the idea of life beyond the war – of a forever for them. "The council won't be able to keep us apart for much longer."

The council weren't evil, he thought to himself, they were just terrified of Doom, and their faith in Voltron wasn't as strong as theirs was. They saw an alliance with weapons and ships and money coming to Arus. Keith knew what would most likely happen. Voltron would be the actual currency of a royal alliance, and the mighty robot was way more valuable than any fleet or weapon they could give Arus. It frustrated him to no end that they couldn't see this simple truth.

While Voltron protected all of Arus, and by extension her allies, the reality was that he was owned by the royal family – namely Allura. He or she, who controlled the royal family, controlled Voltron. That was not public knowledge, but the council_ had_ to be aware of that fact. He knew that Coran had not been pleased when he had made the connection for himself, and had asked him to keep it quiet when he had confronted him about it.

The idea that they would be willing to have any prince come in and, not only take the planet as his own, but essentially give this person the keys to the greatest defender of peace in this galaxy, just boggled his imagination. They were also willing to give him their princess, who he knew that they really did love and respect. It was enough to send him into a rage if he thought about it too much. Marriage for the sake of an alliance was wrong – more than that, it was dangerous. He had always worried over that kind of alliance, even beyond the shredding that it would do to his own heart.

He and the team were still Alliance pilots, specifically Space Explorers, and their loyalty had first been given to the planets of that alliance. If an Arusian treaty resulted with a planet that was not allied to _their_ Alliance, the team might have to be recalled and assigned elsewhere. The problem was, they were still bonded to their lions, and none of them had any idea how to break that bond, other than death. Time and distance didn't seem to matter. How could they leave Arus and their mecha? How could he watch Allura marry someone she didn't want – become someone she didn't want to be, for the sake of protocol and a crown? He had never been able to answer those questions.

"We will hold firm, and stay the course." He finally said, confidently, holding to his faith in her. "I'm not going anywhere, and only your word will make me leave – will make us leave. You and I will be together all the time soon, and you'll start to get bored of having me here beside you, hogging the covers and snoring."

He heard a tired chuckle, and a sleepy "not possible" come from under the blankets as her breathing settled into the regular rhythm of sleep. Keith smiled down at her, and then stared at the screen of snow for a little longer, letting his eyes get heavy, overriding the low grade pain in his chest and extremities. He would need a shot soon, but he ignored it for now, revelling in the feeling of her beside him, as he fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N —** This is just a short chapter, but the break was necessary, as you will see later. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer —** I don't own Voltron, just my imagination.

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><p>Keith awoke an hour before dawn, his chest on fire with pain. The pain meds he had ignored before were now going to be his best friends in a moment. Allura had gotten up once during the night to give him a shot, but the effects had long since stopped working. He was loath to wake Allura up, however. Her soft blonde hair splayed outward like rivers of gold around her face and head. Her forehead was nestled in the crook of his shoulder, her hand against his neck like a soft caress. Every little movement she made was like a little nuzzle against him and it brought out his fiercely protective instincts.<p>

She was so precious to him.

She was strong, confident and more than capable of doing all that was expected and needed of her. But in sleep, he could still see the very young woman that still existed in there. Being here with her beside him – it was the closest to peace he had ever known. If it wasn't for the pain, he was certain that he would just be able to close his eyes and fall asleep again in the contented silence.

Keith cursed the pain. He was over an hour overdue for his meds, and the pain was starting to make it hard to breathe properly. He didn't want to use the painkillers in the Voltcom until he had to. They were more effective, but he might need them later on, and he would save them if he could. He would need to start walking soon, and he would need help with that if there weren't any kind of crutches available. He turned when he felt Allura stirring beside him, and smiled despite his discomfort when her eyes blinked open and the smile she gave him when she saw him there.

"Good morning, beautiful." He said as he kissed her forehead, causing her smile to widen in response.

"Good morning, beautiful to you too." She said back, sharing their private joke, and stretching thoroughly, before getting off the bed and going to check Keith's charging Voltcom. "How long did we sleep?"

"About four hours or so, after the last shot. Speaking of which, I'm kinda in need of your stash of pain killers, if you've got any left."

Allura jumped to get it quickly, her expression apologetic as she loaded up the hypo spray with the antibiotic and painkiller. His expression relaxed once again as the drug took effect and the pain receded into the background once more. "I'm having a hard time trying to find a place to give you this. You are supposed to inject it into body fat, and you don't have very much. You need to eat more." She teased.

Keith huffed, closing his eyes in relief. "Well, try my skull. Lance is always calling me a fathead."

Allura's lips pursed in a suppressed smile. "I don't think he ever said it to your face, though, so I'm pretty sure that he'll deny it." She then gave in and laughed when his lips twisted in annoyance.

Keeping his eyes closed, Keith heard Allura go to the fire and put more wood on, and put some water over the fire for some coffee. He was also aware that she turned the lights lower so he could rest once again. He was just dozing off again, when her gasp had his eyes flying open to look at her.

She was staring at the wall, her eyes wide with joy and wonder. Keith quickly followed her line of vision and couldn't stop his own intake of breath at the sight.

The winter storm had somewhat abated, going from a full blizzard to just lots of fat snowflakes falling lazily across the screen. That wasn't what captured their attention, however.

There, in the centre of the screen, a brightly lit, frost covered castle glistened like a bright beacon, its multitude of lights twinkling like all the stars in the heavens. The sight was breathtaking. Allura's eyes glistened with tears at the sight, as the castle pierced the darkness.

"Happy Solstice, my Princess." Keith whispered softly, reluctant to break the moment, even with sound.

"Happy Solstice, my Love." She whispered back as she stepped closer to sit back down beside him and hold his hand in hers.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N — **I'm going to upload the last two chapters at once, as a last Christmas/ Solstice/ New Years present to all those who stuck with this little fic to the bitter end! The last chapters go together anyway, so it would be best to read them as a unit. Thanks for all the reviews, and let's all have a HEA 2015! lol

**Disclaimer — **I don't own Voltron, just my imagination.

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><p>Two days later, and almost everything was back to normal, Keith mused as he stood and stared out the window of his office. Their peaceful moments in the bunker, after seeing the castle brilliantly alight, had been interrupted two hours later by the almost frantic voice of Lance, and Red Lion, as they flew around looking for them in the snowfall. After Keith had answered his anxious second, Allura had taken over and asked Lance for backup. By the time it had arrived, Allura had switched out his Voltcom back to him, put out the fire, and accessed what exit they should use to get out of the bunker. Ironically, continuing down the tunnel system lead to a surface exit, so they left through the same doorway they had come in – but with full helmets on this time – and went to the surface, to be met by Andria, the medical tech, and a transport.<p>

Within an hour they were both in the medical bay, with Keith almost completely strapped down under a medical bone calcifier that was placed over his sternum and ribs. There was another one strapped to his leg for good measure. Dr. Gorma had pulled Allura away for a thorough check up, despite her protestations that she was completely fine. She had come back to see him about an hour later, a bit disgruntled at not being taken at her word, but otherwise none the worse for wear.

For his part, Keith had been put under the diagnostic machines as well, but told a more complete story of the injuries as a result of his efforts to defy gravity. He had been very lucky that Allura had acted as quickly as she did in the binding of his ribs. If he had not had the force fields keeping the ribs still, they would have very likely pierced his lungs and caused him to eventually bleed out. The bone in his leg had also damaged some of the muscle tissue in the area; that was now being repaired as well. He had suffered and chaffed under the machines and an IV line in his arm for almost eighteen hours before the bones were healed and his infection brought under control.

Allura stayed with him for a little while, listening to him grumble and complain, until Andria, who was attending to him, heard his mutterings. She then had declared to him that no matter how painful his injuries, it didn't compare to the suffering of the staff that had to treat him. She left the room to the peals of laughter that came from Allura. With a smirk, she told him that he didn't intimidate Andria, so he had better just get used to the idea of staying there and resting. Since there was no one in the room, and Andria had made a point of turning the cameras _off_ in the room, Allura had then grabbed his hand and reached down and kissed him thoroughly. He decided to keep his mouth shut around Andria after this.

After Allura left, Lance had come in and demanded all the juicy details of their time together. After being told, in no uncertain terms where he could shove that idea, Keith had demanded a report on what had happened in the castle. As expected, the personnel had been beyond frantic when it had been realized that both Allura and Keith were missing. The loss of the power grid had thrown everything into chaos, and their absence hadn't been noticed until about an hour after the blackout. It had been doubly hard, as the computer was only in battery defense mode, so there was no power to activate the internal sensor grid to find them.

The Voltron team had set about searching for them while most of the castle guards had organized to defend a castle without tech, against a possible threat from Doom. After a couple of hours, they had not found either of them and the general anxiety had kicked up a notch.

It had been Hunk's idea to check the storage area, after Pidge had noticed some peculiar readings in the sensor data that seemed to originate from underground. _So Allura's distress call did partially get through_, Keith thought with a nod. The site of the closed door had everyone's blood running cold when they had seen the anti-grav cart near the entrance, with the Princess's sweater draped over the handle.

Lance stopped his narrative at that point, and sat down, putting his head in his hands as he thought about what had happened next. "Coran went ballistic. He immediately had all the battery power rerouted to communications and sensors to locate your life signs. I sat in Blue for most of that time, using her long-range sensors to check the satellites for attack and to see if I could find your signal. Pidge and Hunk busted their butts to restore the power grid and get it on line in record time, but the Voltcoms just kept coming up empty, with no life signs."

Lance glanced down at his hands. They had been shaking uncontrollably when the time had come to go into the storage area. It had been_ hours _since the start of the blackout, with no word from them at all. It had taken everything he had to go in, dreading what he thought he was going to see. Lance looked over at his commander and huffed a breath. "We thought that the air had run out."

Keith looked soberly at his second. "Believe me, that was a worry for us as well. If the Princess hadn't remembered that exit, then I think you would have pulled out two bodies from that room."

"Yeah, about that. How did Allura know about that exit? Coran seemed to think that she wouldn't remember that it was there, or how to open it. I hadn't even heard about it before today. The passage entrance was closed when the power came back on and we were able to pry ourselves in there. You should have seen Hunk. I think the hinges on that door are warped slightly from the force he was putting on the storage facility door."

Keith smiled a little at the mental image, but shook his head at Lance. "How the Princess remembered the entrance is not my story to tell. A lot happened to her when she was young, and I won't betray her trust by speaking about what little she's told me. You can ask her, of course, but don't blame me if she tells you to take a hike. She probably will tell us all when she's ready. I'm sure that Coran will be eager to hear the full story, if she hasn't told him already." Keith sighed and regarded his second with a look of chagrin. "I'm sorry that we worried all of you. What happened after all of that?"

Lance then went on to explain that after it was determined that they might have gone into the tunnel, the rest of the team had flung themselves down the corridor to their Lions, hoping to use their computers to pinpoint them from the air. They still hadn't been able to pinpoint them until Keith had answered him with the Voltcom. It seemed that the tunnels had a lot of naturally occurring neilium in the soil, which made it very difficult for the sensors to penetrate.

"That's probably why the tunnels were built in that direction in the first place. A purpose-made neilium barrier would have stood out like a pathway. A whole hillside and valley of the stuff – well, you'd never figure out where the tunnels or the people were headed." Keith mused, wincing as his back spasmed a bit from being held still on the metal gurney for so long. It certainly wasn't as comfortable as that bed he had been in not too long ago. He had to school his expression so he didn't grin like an idiot in front of Lance. The man was too observant for his own good.


	11. Chapter 11

** A/N —** So here is the final chapter. Thanks for sticking with my multipurpose fic to the bitter end. I have another couple of ideas for my "Beautiful" universe, but Hiccup has been quite patient, and it's time to give the Berkians some love. Stay tuned, true believers! lol

**Disclaimer —** I do not own Voltron, just my imagination.

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><p>Lance stayed to talk and occupy Keith's mind, but left about an hour later to get some sleep. Emotionally, their absence had been harder on the castle occupants than on either Keith or Allura. Andria came in soon after and offered him a muscle relaxant and a mild sedative, which he had gratefully accepted. He had been able to sleep for another eight hours and then doze for most of the time remaining. Allura had come in near the end of his "confinement" to observe Andria checking out all the readings and shutting off the machine around his ribs. The portable bone calcifier around his leg would have to stay there for half a day more, due to the density and size of the bone, but he was free to walk on it and would be fit for duty tomorrow assuming all tests came back normal.<p>

Allura had smiled at the good news, and then proceeded to tell him about the mysterious disappearance of the mythical Solstice decorations. "It seems that you are on a roll, Commander. You were right once again. The vast majority of the decorations are kept in the alcove two, corridor one – which was almost directly in front of the entrance. It seemed that someone had deliberately misfiled it because there was one lone box that couldn't be put into the alcove, and they didn't want that box to be lost. They had thought, since the decorations were always kept in the same alcove, that everyone would know where they were and just need the reference number to find the last box. If I had asked any of the castle staff, they would have known to tell me where they are, but since I looked it up … well, you know the rest. I can't believe that we must have walked by them at least twice and we didn't notice them. "

"We weren't looking for them in those alcoves, so I'm not surprised that we didn't see them." Keith just chuckled, frustrated at the irony, but happy that he could now laugh without pain. Allura then related to him her whereabouts after she had left him. Coran and Nanny, who had flung her arms around her and sobbed into her shoulder about being so worried about her being trapped and alone in the dark, had practically assaulted her with affection. Allura laughed at Keith's indignant look at the "alone" part, and patted him on the back, telling him that she had set them straight, and told them briefly of her recollections that had helped her find the entrance to the tunnels.

Andria had then came in and told him to get dressed in the clothes that Lance had brought the night before, and she indicated to Allura that they should leave. After a few seconds, Allura quickly walked back in and flung her arms around Keith's bare torso to give him a hug and a passionate kiss.

Keith had frozen at the contact, until Allura whispered into his ear. "Don't worry, Andria shut off the cameras to give you "privacy" while you change. That's why she made me leave, so nobody would know that I was here. We won't have too long, but it's something."

He had relaxed at that, and snaked his arms around her, and held her close. "Andria is a great ally. I'll have to thank her for her discretion." His lips captured hers in a heated kiss, as his hands gently raked through her hair, holding her head close. His tongue travelled the length of her bottom lip as she opened her mouth and let her own tongue travel the length of his. They muffled their moans with each other's mouths as they moved impossibly closer to one another, no longer worried about hurting anything.

Allura was the first to break off the kiss and come up for air. She had breathed deeply to get more air, and smiled at his face that was sporting a look that was way too smug. "Andria said she was happy to help when she can. I think that she just enjoys knowing something that Dr. Gorma doesn't. She says that she'll hold it over him when we let everything come out eventually, and we just have to back her up." Keith had blinked in surprise at the statement, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Allura smiled as well and shrugged her shoulders. "I said we would. She says that the doctor has a wicked sense of humour, but I must confess that I've never seen it."

"Nor have I. I guess we'll just have to take her at her word." Keith stood up from the edge of the bed and pulled on his underwear and pants, snorting when Allura just grinned at him and had made no move to excuse herself from the show. Pulling his t-shirt on quickly had ended the manoeuver, and Allura had just pouted a little before smiling again and coming to sit beside him.

"Have you written up your report yet?" He asked. Allura just nodded and indicated that she had to leave when she looked up at the camera's flashing light.

"It's on your desk now. Call me when you have finished reading it. I have to leave now." After all the babying that she had endured from Nanny, it had been a relief to go to her office to write that report. She was glad that she had been able to come back in time to see him before he left the medical wing, however. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before running out of the camera's line of sight as it activated.

Now, over an hour later, her report sat on his desk and he wasn't sure what she had meant back in the med bay. Allura's report was clean, brief, without any embellishment and described the place they had stayed to a tee. He had been briefly disappointed when she had put in the room's location so accurately, but really there wasn't any help for that. The hoped-for hideaway wasn't so secret anymore. It had been a bit of a pipe dream, anyway.

The door chime interrupted his musings, and he called out to enter, not surprised when Allura walked in, stopping a respectful distance from him.

"Your Highness" he bowed his head slightly to her and walked to the other side of the desk to sit down, indicating that she should take a seat in one of the chairs facing him. Having the desk between them helped him to not do anything stupid like touch her when they were together. He had far too little control over himself when she was in the room with him alone. "I read your report on the incident. May I say that it was very well done. I have nothing further to add to it. I will be adding my signature to it and then filing it into the castle archives." Allura nodded to him, and smiled as she stood up, adjusting her Voltcom on her wrist.

Keith stood automatically when she did, and fought his surprise when Allura put her hand out to shake his own. "Another successful happy ending, Commander. I hope you can join me in the rec area in about an hour. We will be lighting the sparks that mark the beginning of solstice week. I'm also giving out my Christmas presents out to everyone on the team when the sparks are lit. What better way to celebrate the season?"

Keith grinned at her. She had obviously decided not to tell the boys that she knew about the time discrepancy. He was glad that they were keeping another tradition alive, even if it was only for another year. He was pretty sure that it would come out when the month of Sachan rolled around. She was too mischievous to let it go completely.

"Yes, Your Highness, what better way to celebrate the lighting of the sparks?" He took her hand, and then twisted it so that he could bring it up and kiss the back of it. Her face flushed slightly, but she didn't say another word, and turned around and left his office. He sighed and sat down again, getting ready to type out a Garrison report, when a blinking light on his Voltcom caught his attention. Looking as casual as possible, he connected the 'com to his computer terminal and checked the reason. Apparently, Allura had transferred a file to his 'com when she had taken his hand. Curious, he opened the small file, and his face broke into an ear splitting grin when he looked at the contents.

There, on his screen, was a schematic of the whole underground tunnel system, taken from the terminal that had been in the underground safe room. It turned out that there were many rooms and small apartments scattered along the tunnel. In fact, about only thirty metres in, there was an entrance to a small apartment that was labelled "Monarch's Chambers". Someone had circled that area on the schematic and a label over top of the picture, read "sparks fly here".

Keith quickly deleted the information from his console and password protected it on his Voltcom. Smirking, he got up and made his way to the rec area. Yes, he was definitely ready for lighting a few sparks!


End file.
